A big difference between first year and MA year Emily is how I approach cooking at university. When I was a fresher, I lived on pesto pasta, chips and Jaffa cakes (sorry, mum.) Fast forward four years, and I’d like to think I have the hang of cooking nutritious, tasty and affordable meals that I can enjoy after a busy day at work or campus. So, keep reading to see why I meal prep, what I make, and why you should plan ahead too!
Ways to cut your food shop bill
For me, the most important reason that I meal plan and prep is to cutdown on the dreaded food bill. I’ve shopped at every supermarket since being here, but my personal favourite now that I have my car with me is big Tesco near Sandy Park. I tend to do a food shop just once a week but occasionally do pick up essentials and sweet treats if I need to.
Other options:
- Aldi and Lidl in Pinhoe, although these can be a bit more difficult to get to, so make sure to factor this in
- M&S on the High Street – to feel really bougie on those days when you need a pick me up
- Sidwell Street Tesco Express – for all those late-night sweet treat dashes
Planning exactly what you’re going to eat ensures that you can stick to an appropriate budget, as well as saving you time and energy during your busy uni life.
Don’t be too stingy – it’s important to think about the things you maybe hesitant to buy, like extra snacks or soft drinks, but factoring this into your food budget can help you reduce impulse buying lots of additional food during the week.
And lastly, utilise scan and shop tools if the supermarket provides it. By keeping an eye on how much your shop is coming to in real time can help keep the bills down, as well as make the entire process quicker and easier.
Meal planning tips – websites to look at, social media
I live with my partner, and while both of us tend to eat the same meals, he eats meat and I don’t (however we are both huge cheese fiends). Most of our favourite recipes are all plant-based or vegetarian, so without further ado, here’s a couple of yummy dishes to put in your planner:
Carbonara (I make this with veggie-friendly hard cheese and vegan bacon – still so tasty!)
Loaded sweet potatoes with vegan feta and hummus
Creamy leek, pesto and squash filo pastry pie
We scout for recipes on BBC Good Food, Pinterest and Instagram. Our fave foodie influencer has to be the brilliant @georgieeats.
An example meal plan/meal prep schedule
Here’s an example of my meal prep document. I use Notion for pretty much everything in my life, and meal-prepping is no different. Feel free to tailor this to your dietary needs or preferences.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for Guild-run Feed Your Flat events, where you can pick up free ingredients to make tasty and healthy dinners for your whole house.
The Community Fridge is often stocked with essentials too and helps to cut food waste, so be sure to take a look when you’re on campus.
That’s it – I hope I’ve provided some tasty inspo for you!
Emily Pink
(MA Publishing)